Drag scoop and line for retrieval of golf balls from water hazards

ABSTRACT

Golf balls, previously considered to be lost, when falling too far from the shore of a golf course water hazard, unless the golfer wades in for it, may now be retrieved by the use of a drag scoop and line.

United States Patent 19 (11] 3,756,644 Rydberg 4 1 Sept. 4, 1973 [54]3223 513: SSE ES Jf ES%T EXQ FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 453,6246/1968 Switzerland 294/68 [76] Inventor: Rudolph C. Rydberg, 1279 LewisSt., Chehalis, Wash. 98532 Primary EXtlMlller-RlCll3fd E. Aegerter [22]Fil d: Aug- 5, 9 Assistant Examiner-Johnny D. Cherry [21] APPL No;169,212 Attorney-Roy E. Mattem, Jr.

[52] U.S. Cl. 294/66 R, 294/19 A 57 ABSTRACT [51] int. Cl. B66c 3/06[58] Field ol Search 294/66 R, 19 A, 68, Golf balls, previouslyconsidered to be lost, when fall- 294/69, 73 ing too far from the shoreof a golf course water hazard, unless the golfer wades in for it, maynow be retrieved [56] References Cited by the use of a drag scoop andline.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,276,807 10/1966 Ward 294/66 3 Chums 9 DrawmgF'gures PATENIEDSEP 4 I973 INVENTOR. kuaomu (I Prose/as ATTORNEYPATENTEDSEP 4 I975 SHEET 2 BF 2 R. mm NB Wm m? C vm 0 mV D A TTOPNEYDRAG SCOOP AND LINE FOR RETRIEVAL O GOLF BALLS FROM WATER HAZARDS Thelightweight drag scoop and line, conveniently carried in the side pocketof a golfers bag, in a knockdown, collapsed or partially disassembledform, may be quickly reassembled by positioning the U-shaped brackets atright angles to each other, locking with the thumb screw fastener andwing nut, fixing the top and bottom plates in position and attaching theline to the pivotal wire.

Retrieval of the golf ball is simply a matter of casting the drag scoopout over the water to land just beyond the whereabouts of the golf ball,then moving along the bank to line up the colored retrieving linedirectly over the ball and then dragging the drag scoop across thebottom of the water hazard. This dragging action will scoop up the ball,prevented from falling out the back of the drag scoop by the crossmembers formed by the bracket, but other debris retrieved, if it issmall in size, will pass through the back of the drag scoop.

The pivotal wire, attached by its ends to the legs of the larger of thetwo U-shaped brackets, moves up against the uppermost plate when thedrag scoop is being retrieved tending to keep the open side, adjacent tothe retrieval wire, facing slightly downward thereby preventing the dragscoop from tipping over and spilling the contents.

Although this drag scoop and line has been devised primarily forretrieval of golf balls from water hazards, its use for retrieval ofother objects is only limited by its 7 inch by two and one-half inchrectangular opening.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Other devices for retrieval of golf ballsthat have fallen into water hazards have and are still being used;however, all are affixed to rods, some of which are telescoping, whichby necessity of limitations on length can only reach minimal distancesfrom a bank.

Golf balls landing in water hazards beyond the reach of the cups, netsand finger type pick up devices affixed to the ends of rods are eithergiven up to the watery grave or the golfer, after removing his shoes andsocks, wades in for it. This latter method can be hazardous to the barefeet, and in winter, extremely cold.

The drag scoop and line device described herein is only limited, inretrieving a ball, by the length of line used, the distance .it can becast and the operator using care in lining up the colored retrievalline, over the ball prior to pulling the drag scoop toward the bank.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Many a golf ball has been given up as lost, afterfalling into a water hazard at a point beyond the reach of the currentretrieval devices being utilized. The drag scoop and line describedherein is designed to overcome that one problem. Using two U-shapedbrackets and generally only two flat plates, all held in placeindirectly by the use of one thumb screw fastener and wing nut, andother tapered frictional interfittings of parts, the drag scoopisdesigned for ready assembly or disassembly and to be carried in thepocket of a golfers bag along with the line.

Upon loss of a golf ball in a water hazard, the golfer removes thepartially disassembled or knockdown drag scoop from the golf bag,rotates the two U-shaped brackets until they are at right angles to eachother and locks them in that position with the thumb screw fastener andwing nut. The top and bottom plates are then slipped onto the taperedlegs of the smaller U-shaped bracket.

Sufficient line is uncoiled, onto the ground, to reach beyond the lostball in the water hazard. With the line held in one hand, the drag scoopis cast out over the water to land just beyond where the ball liessubmerged. Then moving along the bank, if necessary, lines the coloredretrieval line directly over the lost ball. Thereafter reeling the linein scoops up the golf ball and other debris; however, the pivotal wire,attached by its ends to the legs of the larger of the two U-shapedbrackets, moves up against the uppermost plate and when the drag scoopis being retrieved tends to tilt the opening down thereby preventing thedrag scoop from tipping over and spilling the contents. Collectablesmall debris tends to fall through the open frame work of the drag scoopwhile the golf ball and any debris of like size is retained by the crossmembers formed by the bracketry.

DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1, shows in perspective, the preferred embodiment being used toretrieve a golf ball from a water hazard;

FIG. 2, shows in perspective, the assembled scoop ready for use;

FIG. 3, shows in detail, the larger of the two U- shaped brackets whichreceive the pivotal wire to which the drag line is secured;

FIG. 4, shows in detail, the smaller of the two U- shaped brackets whichsupport the top and bottom plates;

FIG. 5, shows in detail, the large plate, with punched out clip, usedfor the top and bottom of the drag scoop;

FIG. 6, shows in perspective, the two U-shaped brackets affixed togetherby one thumb screw fastener and wing nut;

FIG. 7, shows a plan view of the pivotal wire with wire bent at itscenter to form a U-shape;

FIG. 8, shows in side view how the pivotal wire raises up to bearagainst the top plate during the dragging operation; thereby tending totilt the open face downward;

FIG. 9, shows in perspective, the drag scoop and line in a knockdown ordisassembled state ready for packaging in a plastic pouch.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The preferred embodiment 20 isparticularly suited to carrying, in a knockdown or partiallydisassembled state, in the side pocket of a golf bag, and quicklyassembled for use in retrieving golf balls 21 from water hazards.

The drag scoop and line assembly 20 has as its principal members a largeU-shaped bracket 22, positioned horizontally a small U-shaped bracket24, positioned vertically and a pivotal wire 26, adjoining the legs 28of the large U-shaped bracket 22 which when fixed together, as shown inFIG. 8, support all other detail parts.

The larger of the U-shaped brackets 22 has a hole 30 drilled at the midpoint of the base and holes 32 drilled part way along each leg 28. Theinner surface of U- shaped bracket 22 is recessed 34 by milling toreceive the smaller U-shaped bracket 24 when assembled at right anglesto each other. The smaller U-shaped bracket 24 has a hole 36 drilled atthe mid point of the base, to match the hole 30 drilled in the larger U-shaped bracket 22, and each leg 38 tapered with its narrowest point atthe free end.

Plate 40 used for both the bottom and the top of the drag scoop and lineassembly has at its center point a clip 42 formed by punching anindentation in the surface of the plate 40 and shearing the two parallelsides 46. The other two sides 48 are tapered to fit tapered leg 38 ofthe small U-shaped bracket 24. A pivotal wire 26 bent at the center toform a U-shape 52 is bent outwardly at its free ends 53 to fix intoholes 32 drilled in legs 28 of large U-shaped brackets 22.

The colored retrieval line 56, is attached by one end to a swivel joint58 which in turn is fitted to the U-shape 52 in the center of pivotalwire 26. The colored retrieval line 56 is preferably wound on a spool 66and held thereon by a plastic or equivalent retainer 68.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY To assemble, the two U-shaped brackets 22 and 24respectively are held together and at right angles to each other by ascrew fastener 60 passed through aligned holes and 36 and held in placeby wing nut 62. The top and bottom plates are then pushed onto thetapered legs 38 of the small U-shaped bracket 24. Pivotal wire 26, withcolored retrieval line 56 attached via the swivel 58 to the U-shape 52of the pivotal wire 26 is retained in place in holes 32 in legs 28 oflarge U- shaped brackets 22 by pal nuts 54 pressed on to the bare ends53, of the pivotal wire 26.

To pack the drag scoop and line after use into a knockdown or partiallydisassembled configuration, the thumb screw fastener 60 is loosened byrotation of wing nut 62 and bracket 24 is rotated through ninety degreesto be in the same plane as bracket 22. Pivotal wire 26, with coloredretrieval line 56 wound on spool 66 and retained thereon by retainer 68,is rotated inwardly to be within the confines of the large U-shaped 4bracket 22. The top and bottom plates 40 are placed on either side orboth on one side of the packed brackets and the whole assembly 20, whenin its knockdown configuration, is placed in its plastic pouch andstowed in the golf bag or other area.

I claim:

1. A drag scoop and line carryable, when in a knockdown configuration,in the (side) pocket of a golf bag, and usable for retrieving golf ballsfrom water hazards, comprising a. two U-shaped brackets, one bracketbeing longer than the other bracket, held together by a fastenercombination such as a bolt and wing nut and rotatable with respect toeach other to either lie in the same plane or to be at ninety degrees toeach other; b. top and bottom plates with clips formed in their basemetal to fit over the legs of the U-shaped bracket, which is longer thanthe other bracket;

0. a pivotal wire attached to the legs of the longer of the two U-shapedbrackets and retained in position as the respective wire ends are passedthrough holes in this U-shaped bracket and thereafter held in place bypal nuts pressed onto each bare end of the wire and having its mid wirelength portion formed in a small U-shape; and

d. a retrieval line, approximately fifty feet long, at-

tachable to the midpoint small U-shape on the pivotal wire via a swiveland wound on a spool and retained thereon by a retained thereon by aretained clip.

2. A drag scoop and line, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the legs of theshorter U-shaped bracket and the clips in the top and bottom plates aretapered to facilitate their fitting and retention.

3. A drag scoop and line, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the retrievalline is colored to contrast vividly with the water and be seen whensubmerged in order to facilitate lining up of the retrieval line withthe lost ball.

1. A drag scoop and line carryable, when in a knockdown configuration,in the (side) pocket of a golf bag, and usable for retrieving golf ballsfrom water hazards, comprising a. two U-shaped brackets, one bracketbeing longer than the other bracket, held together by a fastenercombination such as a bolt and wing nut and rotatable with respect toeach other to either lie in the same plane or to be at ninety degrees toeach other; b. top and bottom plates with clips formed in their basemetal to fit over the legs of the U-shaped bracket, which is longer thanthe other bracket; c. a pivotal wire attached to the legs of the longerof the two U-shaped brackets and retained in position as the respectivewire ends are passed through holes in this U-shaped bracket andthereafter held in place by pal nuts pressed onto each bare end of thewire and having its mid wire length portion formed in a small U-shape;and d. a retrieval line, approximately fifty feet long, attachable tothe midpoint small U-shape on the pivotal wire via a swivel and wound ona spool and retained thereon by a retained thereon by a retained clip.2. A drag scoop and line, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the legs of theshorter U-shaped bracket and the clips in the top and bottom plates aretapered to facilitate their fitting and retention.
 3. A drag scoop andline, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the retrieval line is colored tocontrast vividly with the water and be seen when submerged in order tofacilitate lining up of the retrieval line with the lost ball.